Recently, flat panel display devices capable of performing 3D display have drawn much attention, and some of them are coming into the market. Since it is expected that future flat panel display devices will tend to be naturally required to have a 3D display function, flat panel display devices capable of performing 3D display have been widely researched in a wide range of fields.
In general, in order to perform the 3D display in the flat panel display device, a right-eye image or a left-eye image need to be selectively applied to each eye of a viewer in a certain method. For example, as a method for selectively applying the right-eye image and the left-eye image, a passive-type 3D display system is known. The passive-type 3D display system will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a passive-type 3D display. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in this passive-type 3D display system, first, pixels constituting a flat panel display are divided into two types of a plurality of pixels in a pattern shape, that is, pixels for displaying the right-eye image and pixels for displaying the left-eye image. The right-eye image is displayed by one group of the pixels, and the left-eye image is displayed by the other group of the pixels. In addition, by using a linearly polarizing plate and a patterned phase difference film where a phase difference layer having a pattern shape corresponding to the division pattern of the pixels is formed, the right-eye image and the left-eye image are converted into circularly polarized light beams which are perpendicular to each other. A viewer wears circular polarization glasses including circular polarization lenses of which the directions of polarization are perpendicular to each other, attached on the right-eye lens and the left-eye lens. The right-eye image is allowed to pass through only the right-eye lens, and the left-eye image is allowed to pass through only the left-eye lens. In this manner, in the passive type, 3D display can be performed by allowing the right-eye image to enter only the right eye and allowing the left-eye image to enter only the left eye.
In the passive type, there is an advantage in that 3D display can be easily performed by using the above-described patterned phase difference film and the corresponding circular polarizing glasses.
However, although the patterned phase difference film has been necessarily employed in the passive type as described above, the patterned phase difference film has not been widely researched and developed, and no standard technique has been established as of yet. As an example, a patterned phase difference film including a photo-alignment film which is formed on a substrate and of which an alignment regulation force is controlled in a pattern shape and a phase difference layer which is formed on the photo-alignment film and in which an arrangement of liquid crystal compound is patterned so as to correspond to the pattern of the photo-alignment film is proposed (refer to Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2005-49865